A Cat's Tale
by MochiUs
Summary: Kagami Taiga was not sure if he had nine lives, but he was sure that a life with Aomine would be worth all of them.
1. Prologue

The night was dreary and damp. The air was frosty and cold. Aomine warmed his unclothed hands by rubbing them against each other and shoved them into his pockets. He shuddered as another breeze swept by him, so he picked up the pace and scurried back home. Training at the police academy was demanding and rigorous as usual, but according to his instructor, his aim and combat experience was improving. He squared his shoulders as he hurried down the sidewalk, heart racing in anticipation once his apartment was in his view.

Then he heard a squeak.

He halted his foot in midair and immediately pivoted to his left. He stood there, waiting, searching for any signs of life within the dark alleyway. A faint, barely audible mewl was heard in a distance, and that was his signal.

The man traipsed past the discarded box and burnable materials to reach his destination. Sitting in front of him was a lone box, but the box was not his prize. Within the cardboard box was a shivering wide-eyed cat with intricate black stripes. It had peculiar, strange markings on its face. Patches of its matted brown-red fur was missing, and the poor thing looked slightly malnourished and unfed.

Aomine bent down and hovered over the box. He stretched out his hand and tested the waters. He hoped that the small animal wasn't infected with anything like rabies.

"Hey there, fella," he cooed softly.

Surprisingly, the feline didn't lash out or swiped against his approaching hand. Instead, the cat closed its eyes and lowered its head, and Aomine's heart ached at the miserable gesture as if the cat had resigned to its pitiable fate. However, Aomine did not strike or batter its frail body like the cat expected. Rather, he scooped it up and held it close to his chest.

Then he carefully unzipped his puffer jacket until there was a slit where he could tuck the cat inside.

"Don't worry," he said in a hushed voice. "I got you."

From there, he resumed his walk back home with a new companion in tow.

From there, that was the day Kagami Taiga fell in love.


	2. Taiga

Aomine groaned as the alarm clock kept ringing its tune. Although the sounds were akin to tinkling bells, hearing the same music every morning can grate a poor man's nerves. He flopped onto his stomach and cushioned his head between his pillows.

"Shut up," he whined and sacrificed one of his hands to reach for the snooze button.

However, his efforts were dashed as a clawed paw slapped his hand away. Then he heard the fiercest meow in existence. Aomine peeked through shield and glared at his smug cat.

"Taiga," he groaned as he pressed his pillows closer to his ears. "Can't you be a normal cat for once and sleep?"

Like any other cat, instead of listening to his owner, Taiga ignored Aomine's pleas. Resigned to his fate, Aomine whimpered as his bones popped and creaked while he was getting himself up. He removed his sheets, embracing the frosty cold, and shuddered. Once he made eye contact with his pet, he gave Taiga a dirty eye.

"I hope you're happy now," he grumbled as he made his trek to the bathroom.

Technically, he did not name his cat Taiga. All of the rights were reserved to his reliable and remarkable childhood friend, Momoi Satsuki. Despite his outrageous knack for metaphors and the occasional sensible poetry coming from his mouth, Aomine was quite inexperienced in the naming business. If the decision was entirely up to him, he would have named the feline an unoriginal name like Tama. Apparently, his naming sense was blasphemy to the pink-haired woman and took the discussion to his other friend, Tetsu.

The events afterward were pretty straightforward. Tetsu mentioned how the feline resembled a tiger, so Taiga's name thereafter was set in stone.

Aomine understood cats were incredibly intelligent creatures, but Taiga in particular was probably the smartest cat in existence because ever since he was officially christened as Taiga, he would immediately respond to his name. There were other instances of his uncanny intellect.

Once, Aomine had to perform CPR on a man who experienced a heart attack. As of late, he had already finished his training and became a full-fledged police officer. He knew what to do and did everything by the book, hoping he could spare some time before the emergency dispatchers arrived. The chest compressions were at the correct rhythm and strength, and the man's daughter performed mouth-to-mouth to the best of her abilities. However, sometimes the effort could not translate to the actual work. Sometimes, even with the upmost amount of effort, one could fail.

He learned about the man's eventual death the next day, and though the emergency dispatchers took him to the hospital, it was already too late. Aomine's core was not completely shattered by the death. After all, he couldn't be a police officer if his mentality was that weak, but that didn't mean he didn't have a heart.

Taiga must have noticed his somber, melancholic mood that day for the cat hopped onto his bed and curled into his side while Aomine stared at the ceiling and tried not to dwell on the haunted looks on the family's faces. Taiga then made a sorrowful, whining sound. His cry was so humanlike, Aomine wondered if he was crying for him.

He closed his eyes and petted Taiga slowly, relishing the feel of his fur against his skin. Taiga in turn bumped his head against Aomine's hand, providing comfort and warmth to his beloved owner.

They have cohabitated together for at least a year, and Aomine wondered when did he get so lucky to have such a cute cat. Taiga understood his moods as if they were written on the wall. Taiga provided him support in the smallest, subtlest things such as closing the door behind him or waking him up for his next shift. Taiga knew him as if he was his best friend, and Aomine laughed at that last bit since many often referred to dogs as a man's best friend.

However, for him, this cat, besides Satsuki, was his best friend as well.

"Thank you, Taiga," he murmured as sleep began to overtake him.

A few minutes later and Aomine finally knocked out, his heart rate nice and steady. Though the cat desperately wanted to cling to his owner, he separated himself from Aomine's hold.

Life was good for the blue-haired man. He had a stable job and was on his way to gaining a promotion. Though his love life left a lot to be desired, he felt satisfied and fulfilled enough to be surrounded by family and friends who truly cared for him. In his opinion, he owned the cutest cat in the whole wide world, though his opinion was slightly invalid since almost every doting cat owner believed that.

However, little did he know that his life was going to change from good to better.

The window blinds were unclosed, and the room was bathed in moonlight. Taiga basked in it and reveled in its magic, holding his breath and allowing the transformation to take hold. The metamorphosis was swift and silent, and the cat that stood by the edge of the bed was suddenly replaced by a fully grown man with glowing red eyes and beautiful scarlet hair. His skin shimmered as if it was made of precious crystals. He snapped his fingers and was instantly clothed in dark red robes. He looked ethereal. He looked magnificent.

He looked magical.

Taiga looked over his shoulder as Aomine let out a soft snore, which made him smile and reminded him to continue his work.

"You're welcome, Aomine," he whispered and resumed what he came here to do as the magic filled within him.


End file.
